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Retail fuel prices in Vietnam were reduced by up to VND950 a liter on Friday, the second cut in two weeks and the ninth so far this year as distributors passed on oil price reductions to customers, according to the trade ministry.

Petrolimex, Vietnam’s leading fuel importer and distributor, reduced the price of 92-octane (92 RON), the most popular grade of gasoline in Vietnam, by some 4.2 percent (VND950) to VND21,390 (US$1,01) a liter. 95-octane (95 RON) fell to VND21,990 from VND22,940.

Diesel price were cut by 2.6 percent to VND19,190 a liter and and kerosene price by 1.9 percent to VND19,700 a liter.

Today's cuts, which came four days after MIT said that domestic fuel distributors were earning a fat profit of VND1,067 per liter of gasoline they sold, mean gasoline prices have dropped a combined VND4,250 this year and reached a three-year low, the ministry said.

The oil market has fallen this year, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecasting in its annual world outlook Thursday that demand for its crude will fall from just above 30 million barrels per day in 2013 to 28.2 million in 2017.

With the latest fuel price cuts, local transportation businesses are under great pressure to cut their fares accordingly.